Barbara Stone
Dedicated to Family and Community
by Joyce Tepley
May, 2013
Growing up in a blended family of parents, stepmother, stepfather, and five siblings (full, half and step), Barbara resolved to be a steady influence in her son and grandson’s lives. She makes a point to visit them once a month where they live in the Branson, Missouri area, and sometimes has her eleven-year old grandson visit her here. Family commitment is important to her and she wants them “to know they are loved.”
Barbara was born in Chicago in 1957 when her father, Paul Meeker who was a big band leader in the 1940’s, was already fifty years old. Many celebrities including the Dorsey brothers were regulars at their house, though she was too young to appreciate their celebrity status. She does remember her father taking her to a hotel one day when she was six and meeting a nice man with “a big nose” who picked her up in his arms and gave her an ice cream. It was Jimmy Durante.
After rock and roll took over and big bands were no longer in fashion, her father became a booking agent. Barbara laughingly recalls him hating rock and roll. “He used to make us watch Lawrence Welk every Sunday.”
Her escape and solace was being outdoors. That’s where she refreshes her energy to this day. “I remember just lying on the grass when I was a kid. It was an absolute joy. Very nurturing.” Hiking, bicycling, SCUBA diving, walking her dogs, these are what sustains her. She is even creating a nature based coaching business for individuals, groups, and organizations. When individuals, or people who have their own businesses, or who work in the corporate world seek her counsel, she takes them on walks outside in an area with trees and plants. Something magic happens. Stress melts away. Clarity of thought and a more balanced outlook occurs. She recently conducted a weekend workshop for eleven women on a rustic property outside of Dallas that felt like a sanctuary. Barbara’s dream is to develop it into a retreat center to offer more such experiences.
Barbara understands the corporate as well as the entrepreneurial worlds of business. After graduating from high school, she worked in a bank and took college courses part time. She also got married and had a son. When their son was about six, she and her husband divorced. Being a single mother, she needed to make more money so she and a friend decided to come to Dallas, after living in Arkansas for a short time. This was 1981. She interviewed at three banks and all of them wanted to hire her. She picked a small bank and learned just about every job they had. She was particularly in charge of investing the banks money. After four years, EDS recruited her and she soon advanced to a management position. From there she worked for a bank consulting firm and traveled a lot. In 1999, she decided it was time for a career change so took real estate courses and got her license. It may now be time for another change, one that will take her back to her first love and strongest need, the healing attributes of nature and building supportive communities.
Speaking of supportive communities nestled in a park like atmosphere, Barbara stumbled upon our neighborhood by accident one day when she was riding her bicycle. A few years later, she and her partner, BJ, bought a house here. That was about thirteen years ago. In whatever community she has lived, you can find her committed to preserving its best qualities and involved in making it an even better place to live. As Vice President of the Walnut Hill Homeowners Association, editor of its newsletter, Facebook page, and website, she loves helping people connect with one another. She patrols the neighborhood with its Volunteers In Patrol program and worked on a committee to create a neighborhood survey whose results suggested possible social events that are now being implemented, like a regular morning walking group and movie in Peter Pan Park.
Barbara believes that, “a safe coherent neighborhood is crucial to a thriving neighborhood” and the way to develop that kind of coherence is to “get to know your neighbors, watch out for their well-being, and participate in the social events and organizations.” She and BJ are leaders in their spheres of influence but their two dachshunds rule at home.
